Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas. His parents, Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Hutchinson, were Scots-Irish colonists and Presbyterians who emigrated from Ulster, Ireland, in 1765. His father was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, around 1738, and his ancestors migrated to Northern Ireland from Scotland after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Jackson had two older brothers, Hugh (born 1763) and Robert (born 1764), who emigrated with their parents. Elizabeth Hutchinson had a strong anti-British sentiment, which she passed to her sons.

Jackson's birthplace is uncertain; he later claimed to be born on the Crawford plantation in Lancaster County, South Carolina, though some evidence suggests he was born at an uncle's home in North Carolina. His father died three weeks before Jackson’s birth, at age 29, and afterward, he and his family moved in with Elizabeth’s sister and brother-in-law, Jane and James Crawford. As a child, Jackson was educated by a local clergyman in reading, writing, mathematics, Greek, and Latin but was thought to be too strong-willed and hot-tempered for the ministry.

During the American Revolutionary War, Jackson and his older brothers Hugh and Robert served on the Patriot side. Hugh served under Colonel William Richardson Davie and died from heat exhaustion after the Battle of Stono Ferry in June 1779. Jackson and his brother Robert served as militia couriers, participating in the Battle of Hanging Rock in August 1780. In April 1781, Jackson and Robert were captured by British forces. During their captivity at a prisoner-of-war camp in Camden, South Carolina, Jackson was slashed with a sword by a British officer after refusing to polish his boots. Their brother Robert died shortly after being released, but Andrew recovered from his injuries.

Following the war, Elizabeth Jackson nursed American prisoners of war in British prisons in Charleston and contracted cholera, from which she died. Jackson became an orphan at age 14, increasing his hostility towards British aristocracy and privilege.

Post-war, Jackson worked as a saddler, studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina, beginning civil practice in 1787 after being admitted to the North Carolina bar. He quickly rose in social status, becoming a prosecuting attorney and a judge-advocate for the militia. Jackson engaged in land speculation and was involved in the interregional slave trade, transporting enslaved individuals between Nashville and the Natchez District of Spanish West Florida. During this period, he also became romantically involved with Rachel Donelson Robards, the daughter of landowners William Blount and Rachel Stockly Donelson. Rachel was previously in an unhappy marriage with Captain Lewis Robards; their marriage was legally finalized in January 1794 after a divorce petition. Jackson and Rachel acquired a plantation named Hunter’s Hill in 1796.

Jackson’s early public activities included his membership in the Democratic-Republican Party, although detailed information about his subsequent positions and career milestones requires continuation.